Posted on November 6, 2009 at 4:00 PM
Filed under: Deal International | Detroit Breakdown
Tagged: general motors co. , opel

General Motors Co. appears set to bring in a new team to lead the overhaul of its German Adam Opel GmbH unit.The Detroit-based automaker, which earlier this week called off a planned sale of Opel in favor of keeping it in-house, said Friday that unit president Carl-Peter Forster will be...  Continue reading

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Posted on November 6, 2009 at 3:50 PM
Filed under: Acquisitions
Tagged: Jeffrey Schmidt , Linklaters , Pfizer Inc. , Wyeth

The approval by U.S. antitrust regulators of Pfizer Inc.'s (NYSE:PFE) acquisition of Wyeth is an outlier of how merger reviews will be conducted under the Obama administration. That's according to Jeffrey Schmidt, a partner with Linklaters and a former director of the Federal Trade Commission's office of competition under President...  Continue reading

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Posted on November 6, 2009 at 3:02 PM
Filed under: Corporate Strategy | Joint Ventures and Alliances
Tagged: algae , alternative energy , Exxon Mobil , lithium-ion , Rex Tillerson , Toray Industries

When hearing about lithium-ion batteries, one tends to think about cell phones, laptops or the hot hybrid and electric vehicle market. What you don't think about is film separator. But Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM) does. Now an ExxonMobil affiliate has agreed with Toray Industries Inc. to establish a global joint...  Continue reading

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Posted on November 6, 2009 at 2:27 PM
Filed under: Corporate Strategy | Deal International | Divesting and Restructuring
Tagged: american airlines inc. , Delta Air Lines , japan airlines

The courtship of Japan Airlines Corp. has apparently gone into overdrive, with officials from AMR Corp.'s (NYSE:AMR) American Airlines Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE:DAL) each lobbying Japanese government officials about the benefits JAL could reap from forging closer ties to each of their rival alliances.JAL has been a...  Continue reading

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Posted on November 6, 2009 at 12:56 PM
Filed under: Acquisitions | Corporate Strategy
Tagged: cvs caremark

In a three-way contest for national drugstore dominance, the success of CVS CEO Tom Ryan at buying and integrating rival pharmacy chains paved the way for a 2007 deal that broke the mold: the $26 billion acquisition of pharmacy benefits manager Caremark Rx Inc. to create  CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE:CVS).It...  Continue reading

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Posted on November 6, 2009 at 9:08 AM
Filed under: Acquisitions | Corporate Strategy
Tagged: Agrium , CF Industries , Stephen Wilson , Terra Insutries

Putting to rest what some thought was a weak attempt at a hostile bid, CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CF) rejected the best and final offer of Canadian fertilizer rival Agrium Inc. (NYSE:AGU). Agrium raised the cash portion of its bid from $40 per share to $45 per share. The stock...  Continue reading

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Posted on November 5, 2009 at 4:12 PM
Filed under: Careers | Divesting and Restructuring | Middle market | Movers & Shakers | People | Trends
Tagged: Don Dodge , job cuts , Johnson & Johnson , layoffs , Microsoft Corp. , Nokia Siemens

Corporate layoffs are churning this earnings season, with companies trying to cut costs while growing their core businesses. We've gathered a list of pink slippers from the past couple weeks. Of course, aggressively cutting costs is only one side of recent corporate strategy. Downsizing while acquiring has been a frequent...  Continue reading

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Posted on November 5, 2009 at 2:28 PM
Filed under: Integration | Joint Ventures and Alliances
Tagged: MillerCoors , Molson Coors , SABMiller

MillerCoors LLC continues to perform strongly since launching in July 2008. The No. 2 U.S. brewer, behind Anheuser-Busch InBev SA (NYSE:BUD), saw third-quarter profit rise 37% from the same quarter a year earlier. Revenue was up 3.1%. Keystone Light, Miller High Life, MGD 64, Blue Moon and other less-expensive brands carried...  Continue reading

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Posted on November 5, 2009 at 11:10 AM
Filed under: Acquisitions | Corporate Strategy | Counterparties
Tagged: Cisco Systems Inc. , general motors co.

Like a lot of other folks, we followed the twists and turns in the saga of General Motors Co. and its Adam Opel GmbH unit partly through the blog postings of John Smith, GM group vice president for Europe and lead negotiator on the planned divestiture. Having noted the unusual...  Continue reading

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Posted on November 5, 2009 at 9:22 AM
Filed under: Best Practices | Corporate Strategy | Joint Ventures and Alliances | Middle market
Tagged: Cox Communications , Kenneth Lowe , Scripps Networks , Travel Channel

Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. (NYSE:SNI) is taking a 65% stake in Travel Channel Media, valuing the cable network at about $975 million -- the high end of analyst valuations. Cox Communications Inc. (NYSE:COX) will retain a 35% stake, spinning it off into a so-called leveraged joint venture. Scripps will...  Continue reading

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Posted on November 5, 2009 at 8:08 AM
Filed under: Acquisitions
Tagged: David Speer , Hartness International , Illinois Tool Works

Illinois Tool works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) on Wednesday acquired the assets of Hartness International. The target makes conveyor systems and line automation for the food and beverage industries and will operate as an independent subsidiary of ITW's consumer packaging group. The deal comes a few months after ITW chief executive David...  Continue reading

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Posted on November 5, 2009 at 6:29 AM
Filed under: Acquisitions | Law
Tagged: Jeffrey Schmidt , Linklaters , The Deal Economy 2010

Candidate Barack Obama talked plenty during last year's presidential campaign about the need for more aggressive antitrust merger reviews. Have the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice delivered? We put the question to Jeffrey Schmidt, a partner in the New York office of Linklaters and a former director...  Continue reading

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Posted on November 4, 2009 at 5:04 PM
Filed under: Acquisitions | Careers | Integration | Movers & Shakers | People
Tagged: Merck , Schering-Plough

Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK) closed its $41.1 billion acquisition of Schering-Plough Corp. (NYSE:SGP). The deal makes Merck the world's No. 2 drugmaker behind industry juggernaut Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE), which had its own Day One on Oct. 16 after its $68 billion acquisition of Wyeth. Now that Merck and Schering-Plough...  Continue reading

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Posted on November 4, 2009 at 12:42 PM
Filed under: Divesting and Restructuring | Middle market | People
Tagged: Chapter 11 , FTI Capital Advisors , Halcyon Holding , Joss Whedon , Sony Pictures , Terminator

The auction isn't slated to happen until later this month (reportedly), but the multimillion dollar "Terminator" movie franchise has its first formal bidder ... sort of. It's not a major film studio such as Sony Pictures or an investment fund; it's filmmaker and writer Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon. He made...  Continue reading

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Posted on November 4, 2009 at 9:14 AM
Filed under: Movers & Shakers
Tagged: Chad Holmes , Charles River Associates

Is CRA International Inc. (NASDAQ:CRAI) ready to contribute to the consolidation underway in the business consulting sector? The firm on Tuesday reshuffled its management, including promoting an internal executive to the top corporate development job.  Stepping into the dealmaker role is Chad Holmes, who has worked in the corp dev...  Continue reading

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